BATS; Tearful Posada Says He'll 'Forever Be a Yankee'

By DAVID WALDSTEIN

Published: January 25, 2012

8:15 p.m. | Updated In the latter innings of his career, Jorge Posada faced the painful but inevitable slide of an aging star. Younger and more productive players pushed him lower and lower down the batting order, ultimately resulting in the only real public feud he had with his team.

But on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, Posada was back in the middle another impressive lineup, with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, C. C. Sabathia, Hal Steinbrenner, Joe Girardi, Brian Cashman, Diana Munson and Willie Randolph seated in front of him; his wife and children at his side; and the five World Series trophies that he contributed to as the Yankees' catcher behind him.

An emotional Posada announced his retirement after an illustrious 17-year career, wiping away the tears as he recounted his career and thanked everyone who helped and supported him, including his closest friend on the team, the star shortstop he came up with in the minor leagues.

Posada said he made up his mind during last season to retire at the end of it. He said if he had been just nine home runs shy of 300, instead of 25, he might have considered returning. But in the end, he summed up his feelings with the Spanish word cansada. After 20 years in professional baseball, he was simply tired.

''I knew in my heart and I knew in my head that I wasn't going to play anymore,'' he said.

With scores of reporters on hand from New York, Japan, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, Posada explained that although his agents fielded calls from other teams about his services, he could not envision himself wearing green, red or some lighter shade of blue.

''Playing for the New York Yankees has been an honor,'' he said. ''I could never wear another uniform.''

Steinbrenner, the managing general partner of the Yankees, lauded Posada with the praise that all longtime Yankees yearn to hear, that his father and the patriarch of the team, George Steinbrenner, loved and admired him.

Posada was similarly respected and admired by fans and teammates. When asked what would be missed most by the departure of Posada, most of the attendees said it was his passion for the game.

Jeter agreed, but for him the loss presents a more difficult challenge. Jeter and Posada are especially close friends, confidants and comrades on the lengthy trips that define the life of a professional baseball player.

''Yeah, it will be tough,'' Jeter said. ''It goes without saying on the field when you play with someone that long. But I was with him every day for 15, 16 years off the field to eat. It's going to be pretty odd.''

Certain to garner Hall of Fame consideration in five years, Posada finishes his career with 275 homers, 1,065 runs batted in, a .273 batting average, 5 All-Star selections and 5 championship rings.

Posada noted during his speech that none of the five trophies behind him would have been possible without Rivera, the great closer. Rivera returned the compliment.

''It was a privilege to play with him,'' said Rivera, who acknowledged that one day - he did not say when - this decision to quit would come for him, too.

As the news conference went on, it was clear that whatever ill feelings existed between Posada and management over his demotion out of the catcher position and down the batting order were not forgotten, but no longer a source of friction.

Posada reiterated that it stung not to be able to have the chance to compete for his catching job in 2011, but said that meetings he had with Girardi and Cashman toward the end of the season were mostly positive.

''I was doing the best that I could,'' Girardi said. ''I don't look back and say that I have any regrets.

''I love Jorge Posada. Jorge Posada came up when I was a kid, and we shared so many great memories together, and I'm not going to let one tough situation take away from the relationship we had. In the future, I'm going to have to make some tough decisions.''

For Cashman, who was also involved in those decisions, Tuesday's event was the equivalent of the fans serenading Paul O'Neill toward the end of Game 5 of the 2001 World Series, his final game at Yankee Stadium.

''We obviously had a rough patch,'' Cashman said of his time with Posada. ''But we all fought through it. You can have tough times, but I think he feels that this organization truly values everything he's done for us.''

In a novel and poignant touch by the Yankees, Munson, the widow of Thurman Munson, came to the podium and recounted how a meeting with Posada in the dugout in 1997 brought her back to baseball nearly two decades after her husband died.

''I am so honored,'' she said, ''to have loved two Yankee catchers in my life.''

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.

PHOTO: Jorge Posada cried while talking about his wife, Laura, right, and the championships he won in 17 seasons with the Yankees. (PHOTOGRAPH BY CHANG W. LEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES)